British Formula One drivers past and present have thrown their weight behind
the idea of a London Grand Prix at the Olympic Stadium, with Lewis Hamilton
saying it could be “one of the best grands prix of the whole year”.

Backing: Lewis Hamilton believes a race at the Olympic Park could be the best in the F1 calendarPhoto: EPA

McLaren’s 2008 world champion was reacting to the revelation in Thursday’s Telegraph Sport that an ambitious plan to stage a race on a circuit running in and around the stadium is among the bids being considered for London 2012’s showpiece arena.

While there is a considerable degree of scepticism within the sport that such a project could ever get off the ground, given the logistical and financial hurdles it would have to overcome, not to mention the strength of the rival bids, the idea of a second race in the UK alongside the grand prix at Silverstone was received with great enthusiasm.

“It could possibly be one of the best grands prix of the whole year, so I’d definitely support it,” Hamilton said.

His McLaren team-mate, Jenson Button, was similarly supportive of the concept.

“I’d have 20 British Grands Prix... sorry the rest of the world but I’m patriotic,” he joked. “You are only going to get positive comments from me when it comes to British grands prix.

“It’s lovely to travel, but we all love racing in our home country with home supporters. Whether you drive quicker or not is questionable, but it’s just a lovely atmosphere having the home crowd there.

“With regard to the Olympic Stadium, it’s a fantastic facility we’re going to see opened to the world in a few weeks’ time. It would be great if we had the opportunity to race there as well.”

Force India’s Paul di Resta, the third British driver in Formula One, was more circumspect. “You’d have a lot of complaints from people living around there about the noise wouldn’t you?” he said.

“Unfortunately I think that’s a strong possibility, but the venue would be state of the art and I’m sure you could combine it with some street stuff as well.

“London is one of the leading cities in the world, so why should we not enjoy something like that? We should be entitled to a European Grand Prix. Spain have one, Germany did so for years.

“If you take the ratio of teams based in the UK then I’m sure they would be happy to have it as well.”

Former driver David Coulthard, who was part of a Formula One demonstration in Regent Street in 2004, added that he was sure it could be made to work, however far-fetched it might seem.

I’ve no idea whether the plans are viable but where there’s a will there’s a way,” said the Scot. “If you can close London for various events — whether it’s the Jubilee or the Marathon — of course you can make it happen.”